Over 7 billion pounds of PVC are thrown away
in the U.S. each year. Only 18 million pounds
of that, about one quarter of 1 percent, is
recycled.3Chlorine production for PVC uses almost as
much energy as the annual output of eight
medium-sized nuclear power plants each year.

After Ireland created a 15-cent charge per
plastic bag in 2002, bag consumption dropped
by 90 percent. In 2008, the average person in
Ireland used 27 plastic bags, while the
average person in Britain used 220. The
program has raised millions of euros in
revenue.

When the small particles from photodegraded
plastic bags get into the water, they are
ingested by filter feeding marine animals.
Biotoxins like PCBs that are in the particles
are then passed up the food chain, including
up to humans.

In 2003, 290 million tires were discarded.
130 million of these tires were burned as
fuel.

8
In 2004, the Rubber Manufacturers Association
estimated that 275 million tires were in
stockpiles. Tires in stockpiles can serve as a
breeding ground for mosquitoes and a habitat
for rodents. Because they retain heat, these
piles easily ignite, creating toxin-emitting,
hard-to-extinguish fires that can burn for
months.8

The oil from just one oil change is enough
to contaminate one million gallons of fresh
water. Americans who change their own oil throw
away 120 million gallons of reusable oil every
year.

The average office worker in the US uses
10,000 sheets of copy paper each year. Thatís
four million tons of copy paper used annually.
Office workers in the US generate
approximately two pounds of paper and
paperboard products every day.

In 2008, the average amount of waste generated
by each person in America per day was 4.5
pounds. 1.1 pounds of that was recycled, and
.4 pounds, including yard waste, was sent to
composting. In total, 24.3% of waste was
recycled, 8.9% was composted, and 66.8% was
sent to a landfill or incinerated.

Recycling
saves 95 percent of the energy required to make
aluminum from ore.

If
the recycling rate were to reach 80% at the
current level of beverage container sales, nearly
3 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions would
be avoided. This is equivalent to taking nearly
2.4 million cars off the road for a full year.

U.S. Beverage Container Recycling Scorecard and
Report

In
1972, 53 million pounds of aluminum were recycled.
Today, we exceed that amount weekly.